With the advent of video games played on a variety of systems there has come the ancillary problem of children and even adults spending too much time participating in the use of these games. It is, therefore, desirable to provide a timing device to limit the amount of time spent using such video games, regardless of the system that is used, that is easy to operate and is inexpensive to manufacture particularly within the perspective of the cost of the video games and systems on which they run. In an effort to address this problem, the prior art has devised complex systems to work with the existing circuitry of a video game system thereby resorting to assumptions about how the video game systems electronics work.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,376 to Volk discloses a video cartridge vending system with circuitry for disabling the cartridge after the rental time has run out.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,848 to Wang teaches a timer for controlling the allowable playing time range within daytime hours of a television game console having a CPU which interfaces with the read only memory unit of a game cartridge. This device requires program set up on a TV screen similar to that required to program a VCR and interfaces with the existing circuitry of a video game system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,734 to Stamper, et. al. discloses a video game with a calendar function for dictating times during which the game must be played.